There are a number of IP-based mobile devices that are able to (1) capture and locally record on the device pictures and multimedia content (defined as video and audio) and (2) transmit data from the device to another IP-based device or server accessible via (or simply “on”) the Internet. Examples of such devices include camera phones, tablet computers, and cameras (e.g. camcorders) with an IP endpoint.
Current methods for distributing video content from mobile devices include uploading the video content to a central server, creating a link that identifies the location of the video content, and sending an email or text message that contains the link to one or more friends. A recipient of such a message selects the link, which may allow the recipient to (a) first download the video content and then play the downloaded content or (b) cause a media player to begin playing the video content as the video content is streamed to the recipient's device. This process is referred to herein as the “upload and share” paradigm. The upload and share paradigm thus requires the user that initiated the generation of the video content to perform multiple steps and for the recipient to actively retrieve the video content. Also, there is significant lag time between capture of the video and eventual consumption (or viewing) of the video. Thus, this paradigm is not considered real-time. What is needed is a more efficient and real-time way to distribute video and/or audio content captured at a mobile device.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.